Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-22
MARY JAMES TRAVELS.
AFEW REMARKS ABOUT THE LENGTH
AND BREADTH OF BEDS.
a Rainy Day On the River Rhine-J"kes
About Rinsen. Pair Bingen"- Baesic-
ker. the Guide Book Man-The Great
Cathedral at Cologne.
Special Correspondence. !

ker. the Guide HOOK Man-tne SreA
Cathedral st Cologne.
Special Correspondence
COLOGNE. Germany, Oct. 2.-Since oul
departure from Berlin We have been starring
the provinces on the one night stand system
ard have slept in more different beds, al
longer range between beds, than ever besur,
in the whole course of my natural existence
and this suggests to me a few reiaarks or
Continental beds
l haven't seen q bed big enough for two
since left London, and whether they hav,
such things on the continent OF not don,
know. Dickey and / always get a room with
two beds in it, and the hedsteads have invari
ably been these little narrow ones which
have TO he showed up against the wall in
order TO reduce onc-half the chances of roll,
ing out on the f1hor during the night In
America We sould call them lounges, and
they are Of q style of architecture prcvalen;
principally in remote districts where last
lake and Queen Anne have not Vet made a
pilgrimage. Occasionally the plain woo-en va.
riety finds a substitute in the wrought iron
style. which admits Of little decorati,yl but
which also suggests the horrid suspici, 4 that
iron alone can withstand the rapacity Of Ger
tain occupants of beds which do not v for
their lodging and which DO not get M in the
mornin, and go down stairs 10 hreakfi :. Up
"a date. however, we have not been II uhle |
in this way, and Furthermore we have !wayS
found everything clean and sweet a. iry.
The similarity of the apparel of Is in
France, Italy, Switzerland and Germ ny is
rather surprising. Everywhere you Fl 1.-TWO
MATTRESSES on springs, wedge shaped iliow
between them and two pillows on p, or
son,etimes pillow with a bolster as rc nd rs
saw log and nearly rs hard The .llows
are square always. and sometimes they are %
heavy rs sand bags In the matter of over.
blankst or quilt. a oorcrlet and Young
feather bed arc the usual articles. even
in summer time We never have be- \ able
to slcep under the feather bed, .ough.
and it is chucked away in the corner. The
only departure from the above rule of bed
dress was in one or two hotels, where the top
sheet was sewed up into a bas, buttoned at
the open end and quilt or blanket pla ed in
1de OF IT The nights were quite cool when
ve found this contraption, and it was not 50
unfavorable a. it might otherwise have been.
l couldn't find out why the bag sheet pre-
vailed lpresunc, though, it wns to give the
guest . choice, in case she didn't Ike tie side
next to her. In making the beds observed
one thing never saw in an American hotel,
namely, that the chamhermaid always
tucked the cover well in at the foot. If
thereS anything do dislike, il is 10 wake up
in the middle Of the night with my feet jut-
ting out into the chilly cir and all the cover
twisted around my neck, like q horse blanket
around the feet of q runaway nightmare
We s'ame TO this town from Mayence by
way Of the Rhine, as all well regulated
travellers do. making the trip in ei-ht hours
and q rains;orIn We left at O'Clock. and
the rain came about ten minutes earlier than
that, and the only time it lot up was about
noon, when we were down in the cabin at
dinner and didn't care how hard it came
down Il have seen q good many different
kinds Of pictures Of Rhine scenery, but this
was the first genuine water color that had
come under my notice, and l take great
pleasure in recommending it TO univ, rsal con
demnation. After leaving Mayencc the show
doesn't really begin until We reach B.nsen,
AMI when we did reach B!ngen l think an
perfectly safe in saying that twenty five out
Of every tweaty-to persons on deck showed
t5eir dripping umbrellas over SO that the
water could trickie down their neiShiors
hacks and remarked something about Bin
gen, Fair Binsen on the Rhine" l. sounded
. lttle monotonous. bu: felt that our country
men abroad were showing the untutorel IA
tions that they knew the ancient classic
poetry indigenous to that soil. and sid just
what the Others did: "BinScn, Fair E-agcn
on the Rhine Twill say. however, thai .hcre
is considerable license in that poetry, and If
Birgen was ever extra fair, Ii was before she
was as old as she is row. After Bin-en. a
few drizzling. sloppy jokes began TO foat
around among the umbrellas and tn. ir IN
derlingst Misery loves company. and the
bad weather couldn't possibly have been
lonesome with these jokes filling the air.
Under the circumstances of our trip down
the Rhine, I hardly think l am competent to
''criticise the scenery or compare it with
that Of other rivers.
Dickey says q newspaper traveller that can't
H'criticise scenery" should take few ssons
from q landscape gardener We never card
of criticising scenery till les: week, eG a
Chicago woman told us that her hus lnd's
"'criticisms Of the Alps and Swiss ncry
were perfectly magnificent. and so {: &c TO
nature, too!'
Our day on the river was not condaI re to
the cultivation OF the Muse. but Dicicy :ook
out this poem, and l put il il to up
with:
Der all the wide and winding Rhine
Thst day no ray Of sun dill slinc;
The castlei crag Of Drachenfels,
The QUEEN Of al the riv, sw-ils,
Was veiled benea . riisty net
Whose every fold was dripping wet;
The Lorelei. whose song has slain
Her sailor lovers from the MAN.
Hid in her mountain. near its top,
Was waiting for the rain 10 stop:
Tell Sooneckis tower and Stahlecks ", Is.
The Steeger and the Bluchsr Thals,
Were covered with q shroud Of dew,
Which mortal eye could not pierce thr, Ic.;
The mighty Rhenfeis. built to last,
HID where the rain fell mighty fast:
And Stefrepb,-rg and Liebens:ein,
The veil known Brothers Of the Chine.
Had told their leg nd, with . si,h.
And gone behind tie clouds TO dry:
The Mouse. the Cat, and Eolands Arch
Had lost their last remaining starch,
And hung upon the clifty Rhine
Like last week wash upon the line.
And 50 from Mayence to Cologne.
By way OF Bingen, boat and Bonn.
The castles. craes and winding stream
Were passed in misty dream.
And all we know OF scenes SO fair